Councilors on the city Finance Committee gave the green light on Monday to about $1.5 million worth of contracts with area agencies that provide social services.

Although the plan to pay for medical care, substance-abuse prevention, after-school activities and dozens of other community programs with a portion of gross-receipts tax money still must gain approval of the full City Council, the move puts to rest ideas about balancing a projected budget deficit by eliminating some of the services. Councilors took other action to approve a budget that relies on use of fund reserves.

Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center also had approached the city about a plan backed by Mayor David Coss and Councilor Rosemary Romero that called for using some tax money to pay for indigent health care. The money would be used to leverage federal cash for "sole community providers." The hospital then would promise to pay for some social services with the providers.

But given increased scrutiny of such deals and skepticism from providers, the parties appear to be pulling back on the idea. A resolution from Coss and Romero has twice been postponed from the Finance Committee agenda and is tentatively scheduled for a hearing May 31. Finance Chairman Councilor Matthew Ortiz said Monday that the hospital had requested the item be delayed.

City Attorney Geno Zamora said last week that councilors have asked him to issue an opinion about the proposal, but no such report had been made public as of press time.

Coss said in an interview that he's no longer aiming for executing such a big change before the fiscal year that begins July 1, but noted he's still working on the plan.

"It's still evolving," Coss said on Monday. "We are trying to get in touch with the state and federal authorities to make sure that we get their programmatic and legal review before we proceed."

The city allocates money for the social-service contracts as a way to underwrite basic food and shelter, medical services and substance-abuse intervention for the needy. Although funding dropped during the current fiscal year, the contracts proposed for next year will total about $673,787 — only a few thousand dollars less than what was spent in 2009, but still well below the 2008 level of $729,500.

The organization with the largest chunk of funding is La Familia Medical Center, whose doctors and dentists attend to more than 12,300 patients each year who lack health insurance or otherwise can't pay for services.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.

The $638,000 in contracts for human services to the following providers went to:

• La Familia Medical Center, $110,787

• St. Elizabeth Homeless Shelter, $83,000

• Solace Crisis Treatment Center, $80,000

• Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families, $79,000

• Food Depot, $55,000

• Santa Fe Recovery Center, $50,000

• Women's Health Services, $53,000

• Casa Milagro, $35,000

• Kitchen Angels, $30,000

• Catholic Charities of Santa Fe, $25,000

• Interfaith Community Shelter Group, $25,000

• Literacy Volunteers, $20,000

• Food and Agriculture Policy Council's Farm to Table program, $10,000

• Art programs in human services, $1000

• The Salvation Army, $5,000

• Santa Fe Clubhouse's Life Link program, $5,000

The $900,000 worth of contracts for services that benefit children and youth went to:

• Youth Shelters and Family Services, $84,000

• New Mexico Suicide Intervention Project, $60,000

• Santa Fe Public Schools' Sweeney Early Intervention Program, $54,000

• Santa Fe Public Schools' Adelante Program for Homeless Students, $51,600

• Santa Fe Public Schools' Agua Fría Afterschool Program, $50,000

• Santa Fe Public Schools' Teen Parent Center , $50,000

• Santa Fe Teen Arts Center/Warehouse 21, $49,000

• Youthworks, $45,000

• Las Cumbres' Community Infant Program, $42,000

• The Boys and Girls Clubs, $40,000

• Santa Fe Children's Museum, $40,000

• Partners in Education Foundation, $30,000

• Santa Fe SER Child Development Center, $27,000

• Cooking with Kids $25,000

• Girls Inc., $29,000

• Santa Fe Public Schools' Salazar Afterschool Program, $25,000

• Randall Davey Audubon Center, $25,000

• Presbyterian Medical Services Teen Health Centers, $25,000

• Fine Arts for Children and Teens, $20,000

• Gerard's House grief support, $20,000

• New Vistas' Early Intervention program, $20,000

• YMCA Afterschool Program at Pinon Elementary, $20,000

• Museum of International Folk Art, $18,000

• Challenge New Mexico therapeutic writing, $16,000

• Citizen Schools, $10,000

• Southside Music Program, $9,000

• National Dance Institute, $8,000

• Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association, $5,000

• Girls on the Run, $2,400